


The Kite Maker

by Alliance (Xazz)



Series: Cypress Hall [19]
Category: Flight Rising
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-25 06:50:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14971436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xazz/pseuds/Alliance





	1. Chapter 1

Sometimes she had dreams where it felt like she was watching someone else. But it was her. But it wasn’t. The scenes were familiar in the way that places in dreams were familiar but she had no names for the places she saw, the dragons she met. They all called her by her name and knew her. They smiled when they saw her or bowed their heads low in respect. Even the largest Imperials would sometimes bend their great heads for her. But it wasn’t her. She knew it wasn’t her because when she woke up she knew it wasn’t her.

[Nadalin](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=35598193) roused herself from where she’d drifted off in the shade of her bamboo stand. Above the wind was gently tossing the tall grass back and forth making the leaves rustle and she could hear the twinkling of her wind chimes down the pathway. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. The dream again. It filled her with longing. Where was that place? Who were those dragons? Who was _she_?

“Nadalin, Nadalin,” she heard someone calling her and she got to her feet. She left her scroll behind. She’d get it later. She walked down the wooden path to where the bamboo opened out to the clearing she’d cut away and kept well tended where her home was and her tools. Helida was dozing on one of the support beams that held up her home in the sun, the flower on her tail in full bloom in the open sun. “Nadalin,” the call came from around the cabin.

“Yes, I’m here,” she called back.

An elegant black and white rosette pearlcatcher, half-encrusted with pink gems came around the bend. Her horn was a solid pink crystal that was slightly translucent and glittered in the midday light. Behind her was a humi man. At least she thought they were a man. Their form was lithe but did not belay one gender over the other but was slender with a swaying gait. A small frill of horns edged the side of their face but was lost amid a cascade of… pink. She’d never seen pink hair before. Nadalin supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised. Dragons came in all sorts and your humi shape was only what you desired it to be. Why else would Doubt decide to look so… like that.

“There you are,” [Nila](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=35418190) said delightfully. She was always so delightful, despite her condition.

“Yes, sorry, I fell asleep out in the stand,” Nadalin apologized. “I’m sorry, I don’t recognize you,” she said to the wildclaw.

“I’m a new resident I don’t blame you,” they said. “I am [Sigurrós](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=38898763).”

“Sigurrós,” she said. They nodded. “Well, welcome to the Hall I suppose. Did you need me for something?” she asked Nila.

“Oh, yes,” Nila nodded. “Rosy here wanted to know if we had any kite makers in the Hall. He’s from an old Wind clan you see and he quite misses them. I told him about you and well, here we are,” she said helpfully.

“Oh. Ah. Yes,” Nadalin nodded slowly. “I wouldn’t say I’m particularly skilled but it’s a hobby,” she said with an awkward sort of laugh.

“Did you make that one?” Sigurrós asked and pointed at one she was in the process of making. It was half glued together and wasn’t even close to being finished. It was of a colorful fish and she was still in the process of constructing the head and painting it.

“Yes,” she said.

“Then you’re doing fine,” they said and beamed at her. That made her chest warm up happily.

“Well, I will leave you two to discuss,” Nila said.

“Thank you, Nila,” Sigurrós said with a grateful smile.

“Of course, dear. Any time,” she waved at Nadalin and went on her way. She didn’t fly. Her back legs were too unstable for a proper landing so she could never fly again.

“So, you want a kite?” Nadalin asked Sigurrós awkwardly.

“Yes,” they nodded. “My old employer used to have several magnificent ones outside of his shop. They were huge things made by old Wind dragons. I’m not asking for anything quite so elaborate,” they added quickly seeing her unease. “I just want something fun and colorful to brighten up this dreary swamp,” they huffed.

She giggled a little, “I think I can provide. Do you have anything specific in mind?”

“A flower, maybe? If you can manage it? I love flowers.”

“Alright,” she nodded.

“And… is your name really Nadalin?” they asked her.

“Yes.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how’d you get that name?”

“It’s always been my name. Johanna named me, I think,” she shrugged. “Why?”

Sigurrós looked conflicted. In the end, they just shrugged, “No reason,” they said with a smile. “It’s just interesting.”

“So is Sigurrós,” she teased.

They laughed. “Yeah,” they grinned. “Rosy is fine, Sigurrós is a bit of a mouthful you know?”

“Alright, Rosy,” she said. “Do you have any colors in mind? Size maybe? Do you want to be able to control the kite or is it just supposed to hang out in the sky indefinitely?”

“Pink, I like pink,” they said. She wasn’t terribly surprised. “And I guess fairly large. I want it to sort of act like a sign so the others know where I am. Jessabelle and Aya have already complained to me that through a bramble patch and obsidian berry bushes is no place for a home like mine, who cares that it’s in a clearing they can’t see it from the sky,” they sighed. “So I figure a big, pretty, kite would do just fine to help them find it from the air. That’s how my old clan would make important buildings, with impressive kites.”

“Nila said you were from an old Wind clan?”

“Oh yes. One of the oldest.”

“Wow. Why did you come here?”

Rosy had a lost look on his face, “Um… well… it was—

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me if it’s difficult,” she said.

“Oh. Okay. Thanks. It isn’t something easily spoken about.”

“That’s okay. You don’t have to.” There was an awkward moment of silence between them. “Well! I should get started on that kite for you. I’ll bring it to you when it’s done. How about that?”

“Yeah, that sounds great,” Rosy said, also a bit awkward. “Just ask Aya if you can’t find it. She might complain but she knows the way.”

“I will,” she nodded.

“Great. This is great. Thank you so much. I can’t wait to see what you make. I’ll see you soon.”

“You will,” Nadalin promised.

“Make stories,” Rosy said in an off-handed manner like it was habit as they turned to go. They looked back at her, blushed a little and quickly took a few steps before their majestic pink wings snapped open and they flew away.

When they were gone Helida slid off her perch and fluttered over to land on Nadalin’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t talk too much to him,” she said.

“Huh?” she snapped her head over to look at the Nature sprite. “Why not?”

“Just trust me on this,” Helida said, her antenna quivering, brows drawn over her rich green eyes almost in annoyance. “Make his kite, don’t affiliate with him.”

“Helida, you’re being silly. They seemed very nice. Not like some of the other members of the Hall. We could always use more friends.” Helida just made an annoyed noise. “Either way I have to go see them once more to give them their kite. Don’t be such a brat.”

“It is easier this way,” Helida said.

“And you’re being cryptic again,” she brushed the guardian sprite off her shoulder. Helida immediately took flight and hovered next to her. “I’m going to do some drawing, want to model with that pretty flower of yours?” she asked and gave her tail a little tug.

“Sure,” Helida said and followed Nadalin over to her outside desk. She got out her charcoal and inks and found some paper that had enough free space to work on and started drawing the flower at the end of Helida’s tail to learn how flowers worked for Rosy’s kite.


	2. Chapter 2

The Bird Song always smelled nice, refreshing. Rosy would never get tired of it honestly. He loved the smell of flowers, the way the colors played together, the way a bundle of them could tell a story to those who knew what they were looking at. He hummed to himself as he watered some new seedlings he was growing in little ceramic cups he’d gotten from Jessabelle. They were all labeled with what each thing was and he’d written some symbols on the label cards to help him remember what their essence smelled like. It was important to keep track of such things when he wanted to turn them into perfume or just make sure a bouquet’s smell wouldn’t clash.

The door twinkled when it opened. “Hello, be right with you!” he called. He finished his watering, dusted his hands, and went from the back of the glass building up to the front where his fresh cut flowers and manicured plants were a smile on his face. It faded a bit when he saw who it was. It was that strange Wind girl who unsettled him to look at but was so… specifically like someone else. The only thing different was he was used to her face looking more mature, a matron and not a maiden. Nadalin was inspecting some box trout flowers with their dazzling array of iridescent purple and black petals. He fixed his smile back upon his mouth, “Hello,” he said.

She looked over at him, “Hi. I interrupt?”

“No no, of course not. I was just watering some flowers,” he said airily and meandered over to her. “Like the box trouts?”

“That’s what they’re called? What a horrible name for such pretty flowers,” she said. Rosy chuckled.

“I suppose so,” he agreed with a grin.

“Well, I’m not just here to admire the flowers. I brought your kite.”

“It’s done? Already!” he was honestly shocked. He expected it to take longer. He wasn’t sure why. One look at her and he should have known it would have taken no time at all.

“Yes. It was rather fun. Come see,” she beckoned him and they left the Bird Song to where she’d left his kite just outside.

“Oh _my_ ,” he gasped. It was, to put it kindly, huge. It was at least as long as he was tall in diameter and was an elegant recreation of a rose and well painted in the vibrant hues he’d expect from his old home. A long, beautiful tail that looked like falling flower petals was coiled around it where it sat slightly askew against the side of his flower shop.

“Do you like it?” she asked him.

He reached out and picked it up gingerly. It was so large but very light and easy to hold if a bit unwieldily to move around. “You brought this here by yourself?” he asked her, his gray-blue eyes wide. It must have been a nightmare to fly with! Or take through the brambles.

“Yeah, well, Helida helped,” she said and as if summoned by her name a little Nature sprite popped out from the top of Nadalin’s pristine white mantle. Gods even their fashion sense was similar. The sprite gave Rosy a hard, untrusting, look. He didn’t blame her really. “Do you wanna see it fly?” she asked excitedly. “I just gave it a brief test flight to make sure it’d stay up but nothing beyond that.”

“Yes,” he said, nodding.

“I’ll help it out, here, hold this,” she handed him an anchor line while she took the kite from him. He unspooled a lot of line and then Nadalin gave a little hop into the air, her perfectly butterfly patterned wings creating barely any thrown leaf litter. She didn’t go very high, just enough to get it up in the air and then she let the wind take the kite out of her hands. Rosy let out more line as she drifted back down to the ground and the kite waved in the wind, its paper, and bamboo body elegantly swaying up in the sky as a perfect red rose up against the blue. “Looks good,” she said when she came back over to him, beaming at him.

“It’s wonderful, thank you so much,” he said, staring up at it in delight. He watched it a bit more and then slowly started to spool it back in. “I’ll start using it tomorrow once I have a stake or something to tie it off to,” he said. Nadalin helped him collect the kite so it didn’t smash against the ground on the landing and he gently rested it against the Bird Song. “Please, come in, come in, I’ll give you something for your trouble.”

“Oh, you don’t have to,” she said bashfully.

“I insist. Come on,” he beckoned her and she followed him back into the glass building. “Just wait right here,” he said and left her at the front. He went into the back of the Bird Song where his little sleeping quarters was. He ate most of his meals with Nila, Aya or Jessabelle so had no use for a place for food. His sleeping quarters was also his workshop where he distilled flowers down to their essence to make into perfume. He had a cabinet with glass doors with shelves full of little bottles of clear or slightly colored liquid. Each were labeled and he quickly ran his finger back and forth in the air as he read each one to find the one he wanted. It didn’t take him too long. An old bottle about as big as his hand shaped like a fish with some of the scales painted with translucent paint.

He brought it back out to the main area and Nadalin was standing there awkwardly, hands in her pockets, half hiding in her white mantle. She perked up when he came back inside. “Here we go. Token of my gratitude,” he said and offered her the bottle.

“Oh. Thank you. What is it?” she asked even as she took the bottle.

“Perfume, to make a sweet girl like you even sweeter,” he said brightly. Her dark skin darkened a bit more and she looked away shyly. “Nadalin, could I ask you something?”

“Yeah, sure,” she said, tucking the bottle away.

“Does the name Mu mean anything to you?”

She looked confused, “No.”

“How about Windshear Caravan?”

She shook her head, “No. Should it?”

“What clan are you from?”

“Hmm? I’m from Cypress Hall, duh,” she scoffed.

He smiled a little. “I know. But I mean, where were you born. Unless you were born here too?”

“No, I wasn’t,” she agreed at length. “And I don’t really know. All I remember is the Hall. I was given to Johanna as a fresh hatchling, I don’t remember who my birth clan was.”

“So you don’t know who your parents were?” he pressed.

“No.”

“Do you know why Johanna got you as a hatchling?” 

“No,” she said and was starting to get nervous around him. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

“Okay. It must just be a coincidence then, nothing to worry about,” he smiled at her brightly. “You just look like someone I knew.”

“You knew?” she was curious now. “Who? An older wildclaw?”

His heart jumped. “Yes. You look just like her-

“Okay, enough,” a new voice said. He looked down and saw Helida crawl out of Nadalin’s mantle. She fluttered right up to Rosy’s face. “You be quiet,” she said sternly.

“Eh?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said seriously, her green eyes narrowed. He’d never seen a sprite look angry before, it was a new experience for him.

“What? I didn’t mean any insult,” he stammered.

“Helida, what’s the matter?” Nadalin asked.

Helida looked back at Nadalin and to his complete and utter surprise started speaking Singhari with her. He had never been able to grasp the complex Wind tongue with its pitches and continuous sounds. It was beyond someone like him. It sounded like a short discussion, argument, whatever. “Is everything all right?” he asked once Helida was done reprimanding Nadalin and sat on her shoulder positively glaring at Rosy.

“Ah… yeah. It’s okay. I’m just gonna go now.” Before he could stop her she darted out of the Bird Song and even as he followed her she effortlessly took to the sky on her seafoam and yellow wings and flew off.

Rosy frowned after her. What in the world? What was going on? Why had a _sprite_ stopped him from asking questions about her of the Matriarch? Briefly he thought about following her but knew it’d do him no good. He would respect the fact that his questions weren’t wanted or appropriate. They probably weren’t. Nadalin wasn’t her. She was just some girl who looked like her. So then why did she react to the question about someone he used to know? She seemed to know exactly who he meant too. His frown deepened and he went back inside. He hoped she liked the perfume. It smelled like home.


End file.
